Taking Care of your Flower Garden During the Summer

If you want to have a gorgeous, healthy, garden that is full of life in the hot summer months, then there are important tasks that need to be done in every season. Winter requires final dead heading of spent blooms and the application of a generous layer of compost. Spring brings the need to turn some soil to mix in the remaining compost, remove or move some plants, prune plants ahead of initial growth, and transplant plants into the garden beds that you started inside. Autumn is the time to dead head blossoms and collect seeds, divide plants, and do some pruning. Many think that summer is the time to sit back and simply watch everything grow. While that is part of summer’s allure, there is work to be done in the garden to maintain its health and productivity.

First and foremost in summer is the need to keep the garden irrigated. If it’s a rainy summer nature will do this for you. But many regions have occasional dry summers or dry spells, and that is the time to get out the hose and sprinkler to offer your flowers a refreshing drink that will keep them producing happily. In addition to keeping a close eye on moisture levels, here is a to-do list for the hot, sunny days of summer.

1. Take notes! This is a great time to look over your garden and take notes on which plants you like and which ones you’ll want to replace for next year. Update your notes on plants that don’t work well together, mixing colors that clash or don’t provide a nice blend. In the fall, you’ll refer to these notes and move things around for a more pleasing view next year.

2. Add compost around shrubs and plants to better hold moisture in the soil. Remember to keep the compost off of the actual stems or stalks, since excess moisture above the ground can produce mildew or rot in extreme cases.

3. Dead head spent blooms from the spring. They will be dry enough at this point to remove. If you like to gather seeds from spent blossoms, this is your chance to do that. Place them in paper bags marked with the type and variety of plant. Do not place them in plastic bags – this can cause rot if there is moisture present, and doesn’t allow the seeds to breathe.

4. Prune spring bloomers. This is a good time to aggressively prune the spring flowers. In some case, you might open the door for a second round of blossoms. If not, you will at least rid the plant of excess branches, freeing the plant to spend its energy on flowers next season.

5. Remove annuals that have stopped blooming. That speaks for itself. Some annuals will stay green for a month or two after they peak, without producing flowers. If the foliage is attractive, leave them, but if not, give them the heave-ho.

6. Fill in bare spots with annuals. Most nurseries have a good supply of annuals until mid-summer. Then they put them on clearance to get rid of them, before they have to spend a lot of time and energy keeping them well watered in the heat of July or August. Anticipate where your beds needs a splash of color and get the plants while they are still healthy and producing blooms. Snap Dragons, Salvia, Petunias, Begonias, Impatiens, and Chrysanthemums are wonderful mid-summer additions that will keep blooming well into autumn.

7. Plan for autumn bulb planting/moving. If you’d rather add perennial bulbs to the bare patches, now is the time to make your notes and begin selecting your bulbs. You’ll have them in hand and ready to plant when autumn hits.

These tasks will keep you busy and interested while still allowing plenty of hammock or lounge chair time. And they will insure the healthiest garden possible, and one that will continue to give you colorful pleasure well into autumn.

Attracting Butterflies

Many bird enthusiasts are also naturally taken with the beauty and characteristics of butterflies. These delicate, winged creatures are exquisite and rare, a short-lived wonder of the natural world. When you want to attract butterflies to your yard, it is all about having the right plants, plain and simple. Planning an entire garden, section of the garden, or separate bed for attracting butterflies is easier when you know what their preferred diet entails. This guide will help you choose plants to include that will bring nature’s most delicate winged creatures flitting into your garden this coming season.

Perennials are nice because they will come back year after year with a bit of pruning, deadheading, and care. And the right ones serve as butterfly magnets. Choose from the following for the most success.

1. Aubretia: This spring bloomer delights the senses of humans and butterflies alike with bright blooms of violet, red and blue.
2. Dianthus: Especially effective for our wing-bearing insect friends are pink and white varieties. This traditional plant loves full sun, and where it thrives, butterflies will find it.

3. Michaelmas Daisy or Aster: When late summer hits, this old-world beauty will bud, then bloom into violent shades of purple and pink. The blossoms are hardy and long-lasting, and are a favorite treat for many species of butterfly. Sunny to partly shady patches of your garden or yard are the most suitable for this gorgeous plant.

4. Sedum: This hardiest, most resistant of the traditional plants is also a favorite of passing butterfly. They find it hard to resist the delicate, fragrant aromas which prove the appetizer for a nutritious meal. Place them at the perimeter of your garden and they will lure in butterflies in late summer and into autumn.

5. Sweet William: A form of Dianthus, this mid-summer bloomer presents its pink, purple and white blooms at the peak of butterfly season. You will love its aesthetic beauty and also the skill it seems to have in attracting gorgeous winged creatures of the insect variety.

A good many annuals will also serve to coax butterflies into your viewing range. Add these to your garden for variety from year to year, to complement your honored perennial friends.

1. Candytuft: This is a very old, traditional bloom that butterflies cannot get enough of. Take a close whiff of these sweet blossoms and you might just agree. They are aromatic and very pretty.

2. Cornflower or Bluebottle: These beauties are easy to grow and will supply butterfly-attracting blooms all summer long. Plant them in spring, add a bit of compost, water in dry spells, and sit back to watch them lure beautiful butterflies into your yard.

3. Marigolds: The many varieties of marigold are all on the menu for butterflies. This bushy, hardy, orange and yellow mainstay of English gardens provides a tasty, stable place for butterflies to feed and rest. Edge your garden with Marigold and keep some pests out while bringing in the species you want to enjoy.

There really is a science to attracting butterflies, and planting the right varieties in your garden is the foundation for success. Many of these plants offer aesthetically appealing blooms, and will further delight you when you see the first butterfly of the year alight on one of them – with many more to follow.